Document Detection

Proactively identify when conversations should become structured documents (PRDs, ADRs, or PRPs) and guide users through the documentation workflow.

When to Use This Skill

When This Skill Activates

This skill is loaded when conversation context suggests documentation opportunities:

• Feature requirements being discussed
• Architecture decisions being made
• Implementation planning in progress
• Technology trade-offs being evaluated

Prerequisites

Document detection requires:

1. Blueprint initialized in project (docs/blueprint/manifest.json exists)
2. has_document_detection: true in manifest structure
3. docs/ directory structure created

Check prerequisites before prompting:

# Verify blueprint is initialized with document detection enabled
jq -r '.structure.has_document_detection // false' docs/blueprint/manifest.json 2>/dev/null

Detection Patterns

PRD Indicators (Product Requirements)

Primary triggers (confidence +0.5 each):

• Feature descriptions: "I want to build...", "The system should...", "We need a feature that..."
• User stories: "As a [user], I want...", "Users should be able to..."
• Requirements enumeration: Lists of features or capabilities
• Problem/solution framing: "The problem is... the solution is..."

Confidence boosters (+0.1-0.2 each):

• Multiple features mentioned (+0.2)
• User personas identified (+0.1)
• Success criteria discussed (+0.1)
• Priority levels mentioned (P0, P1, must-have, nice-to-have) (+0.1)
• Timeline or milestones mentioned (+0.1)

Example triggers:

"I want to build a user authentication system with OAuth2 support, password reset, and MFA"

"As an admin, I want to manage user permissions so that I can control access"

"We need to implement: 1) user registration, 2) email verification, 3) profile management"

ADR Indicators (Architecture Decisions)

Primary triggers (confidence +0.5 each):

• Technology comparisons: "Should we use X or Y?", "Which is better: X or Y?"
• Trade-off discussions: "The pros and cons of...", "The trade-offs between..."
• "Why did we choose..." questions
• Framework/library selection discussions
• Design pattern debates

Confidence boosters (+0.1-0.2 each):

• Multiple options explicitly compared (+0.2)
• Trade-offs listed with pros/cons (+0.1)
• Long-term impact discussed (+0.1)
• Team disagreement on approach (+0.1)
• Reversibility or commitment discussed (+0.1)

Example triggers:

"Should we use PostgreSQL or MongoDB for the user data? We need to consider query patterns and scalability"

"The pros of using microservices are scalability and team independence, but the cons are operational complexity"

"Why did we choose React over Vue? Let me document the decision"

PRP Indicators (Implementation Prompts)

Primary triggers (confidence +0.5 each):

• Implementation intent: "Let's implement...", "How do we build...", "Time to code..."
• Specific feature scope: "the authentication module", "the payment flow", "the dashboard component"
• Technical approach discussions: "We'll use X pattern to...", "The implementation will..."
• File/component planning: "We need to create files for...", "The components are..."

Confidence boosters (+0.1-0.2 each):

• File paths or component names mentioned (+0.2)
• Test approach discussed (+0.1)
• Clear scope boundaries defined (+0.1)
• Dependencies identified (+0.1)
• PRD reference made (+0.1)

Example triggers:

"Let's implement the payment processing module with Stripe integration"

"We need to create PaymentService.ts, add routes in /api/payments, and write integration tests"

"Time to build the dashboard - it needs charts, filters, and export functionality"

Confidence Calculation

Threshold for prompting: >= 0.7

Base confidence: 0.0
+ Primary trigger matched: +0.5
+ Additional primary trigger: +0.3
+ Each booster matched: +0.1 to +0.2

Total >= 0.7 → Prompt user
Total < 0.7 → Continue without prompting

Examples:

• "I want authentication" → 0.5 (single trigger, below threshold)
• "I want to build authentication with OAuth, MFA, and password reset" → 0.5 + 0.2 (multiple features) = 0.7 (meets threshold)
• "Should we use Postgres?" → 0.5 (single trigger, below threshold)
• "Should we use Postgres or MongoDB? Postgres has better querying but MongoDB scales easier" → 0.5 + 0.2 (comparison) + 0.1 (trade-offs) = 0.8 (exceeds threshold)

Detection Flow

When confidence >= 0.7, execute this flow:

Step 1: Prompt User

Use AskUserQuestion to confirm document creation:

question: "This looks like a [PRD/ADR/PRP] opportunity. Would you like to document it?"
options:
  - label: "Yes, create [document type]"
    description: "I'll gather context and create the document"
  - label: "Add to backlog"
    description: "Record this topic for later documentation"
  - label: "Not now, remind me later"
    description: "Continue conversation, prompt again if topic expands"
  - label: "No, just continue"
    description: "Skip documentation for this topic"

Step 1.5: Backlog Path (if "Add to backlog" selected)

For ADR opportunities, append the decision topic to the Proposed ADRs section in docs/adrs/README.md:

1. Check that docs/adrs/README.md exists (create from template if missing)
2. Append a bullet to the Proposed ADRs section:

   - [ ] {Decision topic} — {brief context from conversation} (identified {YYYY-MM-DD})
   

3. Remove the _No proposed ADRs at this time._ placeholder if present
4. Confirm to user: "Added to proposed ADRs backlog. Run /blueprint:derive-plans when ready to document it fully."

For PRD/PRP opportunities, note the topic in the conversation and suggest revisiting later. No persistent backlog file exists for these types yet.

Step 2: Gather Clarification (if accepted)

Ask context-specific questions based on document type:

For PRD:

question: "Who are the primary users for this feature?"
options:
  - label: "End users"
    description: "Regular users of the application"
  - label: "Administrators"
    description: "Admin users with elevated access"
  - label: "Developers"
    description: "Internal development team"
  - label: "Multiple types"
    description: "I'll specify the user types"

For ADR:

question: "What constraints should I consider for this decision?"
options:
  - label: "Performance requirements"
    description: "Speed, latency, throughput constraints"
  - label: "Team expertise"
    description: "Team familiarity with technologies"
  - label: "Budget/cost"
    description: "Financial or resource constraints"
  - label: "Timeline"
    description: "Delivery deadline constraints"
  - label: "All of the above"
    description: "Consider all constraint types"

For PRP:

question: "What's the priority and scope for this implementation?"
options:
  - label: "High priority, narrow scope"
    description: "MVP implementation, ship quickly"
  - label: "High priority, full scope"
    description: "Complete implementation needed soon"
  - label: "Normal priority"
    description: "Standard development timeline"
  - label: "Exploratory"
    description: "Spike or proof of concept"

Step 3: Prepare Context Package

Extract from conversation:

• Key requirements or decisions discussed
• Options considered (for ADR)
• Scope boundaries identified
• User clarifications from Step 2
• Related existing documents (check docs/prds/, docs/adrs/, docs/prps/)

For ADR: Infer Domain

Map discussion topics to ADR domains:

Include inferred domain in context package for /blueprint:derive-plans.

Step 4: Delegate to Documentation Agent

Launch appropriate documentation command:

For PRD:

Run /blueprint:derive-plans with context:
- Feature description from conversation
- User types identified
- Requirements enumerated
- Success criteria discussed

For ADR:

Run /blueprint:derive-plans with context:
- Decision being made
- Options compared
- Constraints identified
- Trade-offs discussed
- Inferred domain (for conflict analysis)

For PRP:

Run /blueprint:prp-create with context:
- Feature scope
- Implementation approach
- Test strategy discussed
- Files/components planned

Step 5: Report Result

After document creation:

1. Show document location (docs/prds/, docs/adrs/, or docs/prps/)
2. Summarize key sections created
3. Suggest next steps:
   • For PRD: "Run /blueprint:generate-rules to create implementation patterns"
   • For ADR: "Consider linking to related PRDs"
   • For PRP: "Run /blueprint:prp-execute when ready to implement"

Session Tracking

To avoid duplicate prompts, track detected topics:

Track declined topics: Don't re-prompt for explicitly declined documentation Track deferred topics: Re-prompt if significant new context is added (new requirements, new trade-offs, etc.) Track created documents: Don't re-prompt for topics with existing documents

Session tracking uses conversation memory - no persistent storage needed.

Integration with Blueprint Commands

Document detection integrates with existing commands:

Configuration

Document detection is controlled by manifest flag:

{
  "structure": {
    "has_document_detection": true
  }
}

Enable during /blueprint:init or /blueprint:upgrade.

False Positive Prevention

To minimize interruptions:

1. Require high confidence (>= 0.7) before prompting
2. Don't prompt on vague statements:
   • "We might need auth" (< 0.7)
   • "Maybe we should use Postgres" (< 0.7)
3. Don't re-prompt for same topic in same session
4. Respect user choice: "No, just continue" stops all prompts for that topic

Quick Reference